The Frozen Moon - By J.D. Swinn Page 0,50
to form a word she could read, understand. It was this that was whispering into her ear with such force.
She could feel the magic rising from Daniel, whichever spell he was spinning was certainly powerful, but it was taking him time. Nameh struggled through her few words, likely her last, drawing every drop of energy from her broken and bleeding body. They tumbled from her dry lips like weary travelers, but somehow she knew they had served their purpose. When they had scarcely been uttered, her vision softened into darkness, and she was surrounded by a feeling that was both pleasantly warm and cool. All she knew was that she was far away from the tormenting scene at the memorial. It was a comfort that made her want to linger forever, and perhaps she would. Was this what death is like?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: GREEN
Nameh had slumped to the ground; Seth wasn’t sure if she was dead, but there was nothing he could do. This powerlessness clawed at his mind, it was a feeling that he resented greatly. Her hair of spun silver now fell around her body and the grass beneath her. Grass always seemed so much greener in the autumn, but he wasn’t sure if the hue actually darkened, or if it just appeared this way against the crisp and brighter blue of the sky this time of year. It was almost sickening, being surrounded by so much green, though it might have been comforting or beautiful in another time or situation.
He took a glance at those around him, the ones he had met only a few weeks ago. Cal, he had met at the Vine a few months earlier, but had not known him well until he met the others. They had lived together, worked together, fought and shed blood together. They were more of a family than he had ever known. Never before had he felt such belonging, but he knew it could not last; life had never worked out for him in the long run. Even though he was about to die along with these people, he didn’t know that he would change things if he could.
His thoughts were interrupted by a terrible din, a gruesome noise that filled his ears and became his only focus. It took his mind a moment to recall where he had heard the sound before, though it was familiar. He was brought back to his small apartment near central park a few years before, when he had first left home, if one could even have called it a home. He had some money to his name, and he had been able to sustain himself for a while, but he soon turned to the Vine, having nowhere else to go. Not only that, but it had been the one thing his mother had forbidden. The long sleepless nights in this apartment had been filled with horrifying screeches which pierced the air for miles around, heard only by those with magical knowledge. He remembered the Moon Faerie wars; the unnaturally loud clang of metal heard for hours, and the fierce battle cries that filled the night air. This was how each battle was started: a declaration of war.
He lay on the ground, still conscious, but barely, watching the flashes of metal armor streak by. The faerie river rushed onward, paying little mind to the broken bodies strewn, barely alive on the cold ground. It rushed around the Guild members, filling the crevices and concealing them from view entirely. Behind them rushed werewolves, half-harpies, and vampires of all shapes, colors, and sizes. They were adorned in armor bound with metal and dark leather, emblazoned with the crests of the Vine and Guardians alike. He didn’t know how or why they were here, but it didn’t matter. For a moment, hope welled inside him, perhaps they could be victorious, perhaps the world was not yet lost. After all, the amulet was still protected in Max’s pocket, and not in the possession of the Guild.
Just as the hundreds of warriors fighting on their side had arrived, a swarm of fighters for the Guild joined the mass of confusion. There were now hundreds upon hundreds of bodies tangling in a fearsome struggle to end all struggles. He had thought the battle between the few friends and Daniel’s close followers had been the battle to end all, but the fight was just beginning. The war was far from over.
A tall and spindly figure approached, clothed in a robe